MERRY CHRISTMAS!

OUR CHRISTMAS CARD...
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I need to do some major updating, but here is something to hold you over! We have been quite busy and are enjoying life! I'll be sure to post about our many, fun Christmas festivities!
We hope everyone has a good Christmas, spending time with those you love, and we hope you remember the reason for the season!

Happy Halloween...

From the CUTEST Kitty Cat Ever...

AND her crazy parents...aka the 2 headed monster...


Sav had a fun night trick or treating with this cute Chicken...


Holidays are the best with a little kid around! We've done lots of festive things like, Cornbellys, Gardner Village, a Trunk or Treat, Chili Cook Off, Carving Pumpkins, eating lots of goodies, ect. ect. Bring on Christmas, okay, okay we won't forget about Thanksgiving!

California...

Well, we got back a couple of weeks ago and these pictures are making me sad! I want to go back! We always have such a good time and are so spoiled in California(my mom even did my laundry!) We were lucky to have Josh with us for a couple of days and then Sav and I stayed to play with the fam. She really does love her grandma and grandpa and cousins and loved waking up to a playdate every morning!
Waiting at the airport...

Angels game...


At my parents house, all dressed up as pirates for the Tall Ship Festival...(even though Sav missed out & stayed home for a nap)

The adults got on the jet skis that night to go see the tall ships set sail...we almost got hit by a cannon :)

This is my favorite picture from the trip...Sav did everything the older kids did and loved it! I just noticed she has every part of the pirate memorabilia attached to her, even the ring, the popper toy & the sword..

Savs first trip to Disneyland! It really is the happiest place on Earth! She loved seeing Mickey and Rellas *Cinderellas* Castle! The kids went home early & we got to stay for a while to do some big kid rides!

Jones farm...


I could have posted many more pictures but you tell from these ones that we were having a blast! Thanks to my family for making this such a fun trip! Whens the next one...heck, why'd we even come back?

We are off...

to visit these people...and we couldn't be more excited!

Tomorrow, we leave for CA for 2 weeks! We haven't been all summer and thought we better get down there for a good long trip! Sav knows all her Clark cousins by name and loves being with them, and I love watching her get to know them! We are going to have a blast!
Meanwhile, here in Utah, summer is ending. Didn't it just start? Here are some things we've been up to...
*Trips to the cabin
*A race from Logan to Jackson Hole
*A trip to St. George with some of my favorite girls
*A visit from the JD, Adrienne and Maddie
*1st BYU game...I will now loose my Hubby to football for a couple of months
*Many trips to the park...Sav can't get enough,she gets crazy at the park!
*going through the decision to teach or not(decision is made...not teaching!)
*spending time with family and friends

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

California, ready or not, here we come...

2 YEARS OLD!

Savannah turned 2 last week and boy, have we been busy! The night of her birthday we had a picnic at the park and on Saturday, the 24th, we had a party with both families. She went to the doctor today and we are so grateful for a beautiful, healthy daughter. Sav didn't even cry when she got her shot! Anyway, there is more to come but I am just recording her stats...

Weight 30.2 pounds 85%
Height 36 inches 95%

We love our big girl!

4th of July

Josh and I love the 4th of July! Nothing better than a perfect summer holiday. We spent this 4th of July in Wyoming at Josh's grandparents cabin. We went with Dave & Ashley Jackson and their little boy Max and dog Lilly. Josh and Dave were missionary companions and best of friends.We spent a day in Jackson Hole and basically hung out riding 4 wheelers and playing lots of croquet. Sav loved playing with Max and Lilly. We watched a great firework show. Everyone on the lake was doing fireworks and all the neighbors as well.Savannah loved the 4 wheeler rides with dad. We had a great time. One day we found this crazy big slide at this little park. It was crazy! Obviously Savannah loved it until she had a small little biff. It was cool though.
We hope everyone had a happy 4th.

Mr. & Mrs. Ambrose

Josh's sister, Jenny got married on June 24th. It was a perfect day for a perfect wedding. Everything came together so well and we had a great time celebrating with them.
The Happy Couple...

Jenny's dress was the same dress that her Mom and Grandma both wore for their weddings! Isn't that awesome?!

Palm Springs Getaway!

For the past couple of years, my sisters ward has gone to Palm Springs for a golf trip. We were invited and SO excited. I kept telling everyone it was like a "Couples Retreat" but really I didn't see Josh the whole time. He golfed, I shopped, ate, lounged by the pool and got a pedicure. We would meet up with the guys for dinner and that's about it. We missed Sav like crazy, but didn't have to worry thanks to Josh's family and Madison.
Our beautiful resort...

The outlet mall there is crazy...we stayed the whole day...here was the full trunk at the end of day...

Me by myself at the pool...*side note:the week we left it had snowed in UT, but we loved enjoying the 85 degree weather!*

After Palm Springs we went back to the OC for Ashlynns baptism and just hung out with the fam. This pic was taken the day we left...I had to prove that Josh was on the trip!

Social Butterfly

Savannah LOVES people! There is not a day that goes by that she doesn't mention her friends by name. Lately(probably because it's just me and her home all day) she stands at the top of the stairs in her jammies saying,"Let's Go!" and will name some of her friends. She also hates goodbyes. Whenever we leave her friends she has a meltdown unless I bribe her with something :) I love watching her develop relationships with others. She tends to be a bully with an occasional swat, but hopefully she grows out of it soon.
Here is a picture of Maddie, Brinlee, Sav and Lleyton...these kids(except for Maddie) are in our ward and are all the same age. Sav also got babysat with Brin while I worked and she adores her. These 2 are so cute together and are trouble when they spot each other in Sacrament meeting. Maddie was in town for the weekend and if she didn't live so far away, she would definitely be Sav's BFF. Come back MADDIE!

Caden(aka Dee-aw)is Sav's best friend/cousin. She picks on him the most but loves him the most...

And when no one else is around she plays with "Ruff Ruff" and her babies. She is becoming quite the mom lately with these babies and she now sleeps with "Ruff Ruff."

And soon enough, when we move to CA (IN MY DREAMS) I will be able to post about how much she loves her Clark cousins!

Summer is here...

AND THIS GIRL IS EXCITED!

We are so excited to get out and take advantage of all Utah has to offer! It was a little bittersweet ending school, but I am loving this stay at home mom thing again! I got so used to working/being on a schedule but now I am going to have to get back to making my own schedule and filling up the days with fun. I hope to be blogging more since now I can take advantage of nap time...look for more posts soon(I think I say that every time, but this time I mean it!)

Little Miss Savannah

20 months- taken by http://madimariephotography.blogspot.com/

Things are going good around here. Nothing new with me and Josh...just working and trying to keep up with life. I am counting down the days till summer. I don't think I am going to teach next year but I want to do something. It's been hard but so worth it. The most perfect babysitting situation fell into my lap last month...my friend Jamie's sister, Madison, watches Jamie's little girl full time and I am able to drop Sav off a couple days a week. It has been so perfect. Savannah loves it and it's right down the street. I couldn't of worked this year without the help of my in laws...they have been amazing! I love teaching, but I love being home with Savannah even more!
Now on to Savannah...
She is so fun right now. We are loving this stage. She is so good most of the time but is starting to throw tantrums every time we have to leave somewhere...but if that is our only problem, I'll take it! Her speech is coming along. There are some words she says perfectly and other words sound like a bunch of gibberish. Savannah is a social butterfly. She loves being around her little friends. We started a Friday night babysitting co-op and she loves it(as do we!) She loves all her cousins as well. It is so fun watching her play with her toys. Savannah is becoming quite the mother with her dolls (& dog.) Girls are so fun! She still loves to eat...it is rare that she is picky. Savannah is a little runner...she never walks anywhere. It's funny to see her toddler body run around. I love seeing her learn new things everyday. I can't believe I have a full on toddler that will be 2 before I know it. I am so lucky to be Savannah's mom!
I know I will think of a million more things right after I publish this, but here is a start!

We're back...

I have been the worst blogger ever! I have no excuses. I don't even comment on peoples blogs anymore. I am going to do better...especially if I want to publish this thing one day. We've been busy as always and are amazed at how fast Savannah is growing up. I need to do a blog all about her just to document the fun stage she is at right now.
Her are some pics from Easter. She had a blast and we had fun watching her. All these pictures are from Josh's parents house. I video taped her finding her basket at our house in the morning. Her favorites are her butterfly book and her baby stroller...and of course, the candy!

Shout Out...

I have MANY talented friends. More than I can count. It makes me jealous. I want to be able to create something that people would want to buy. Maybe one day. But for now I have friends that create for me. Recently, 2 of my friends have started blogs to sell their amazing stuff...check them out...

http://hotchpotchgirls.blogspot.com/

http://cocobelladesign.blogspot.com/

Raelene, from CocoBella, just made this little thing for Sav's room and I LOVE it!


Talented, right?!

OUCH!

We had our first traumatizing parent moment back in January. Sorry for the graphic pics but I wanted to document it! I was putting Savannah to bed (so it was dark) and she was opening and closing her dresser drawers. She was pulling really hard on one particular knob and the knob flew off and she flung back. She was crying unusually hard but I didn't think much of it because she was tired and the knobs of her dresser come off sometimes. I calmed her down quickly and put her in her crib. A couple hours later when I was getting ready for bed I noticed I had blood on my shirt! I thought maybe Sav bit her tongue or something but it couldn't have been too bad because she fell asleep easily. At this point I was starting to feel guilty that I had downplayed her fall. So when she woke up at 1 am I ran in her room curious to see what really happened...this is what I found...



I WAS FREAKING OUT! Savannah was all bloody too. I still thought something had happened to her mouth, but we soon found a nasty cut on her finger. I looked at the knob to find half of it still stuck to the dresser with jagged edges. An 18 month old baby was able to break a glass knob off her IKEA dresser in half?! I wanted to rush her to the ER or after hours clinic, but Josh thought he would wrap it and she would be just fine. After an hour of scrubbing blood out of her room...Sav was acting normal. I put her back to bed at 2:30 and she went right down. I didn't get much sleep that night. I couldn't stop thinking about the whole situation...that I was rocking my poor baby right after it happened, her finger dripping with blood and I innocently put her in her crib. What a horrible mother...if only I had seen what had really happened! I was up early calling a sub and the doctor. We went in and found out that she should have probably gotten stitches, but it was too late. He decided to put 3 loose stitches in to help it recover a little faster. SO, they strapped her down in the papoose and began the procedure. It was awful..my poor baby was being tortured and the was nothing I could do about it. It makes me sick just thinking about it. She fell asleep on the way home and has acted fine ever since! That night she was even trying to put her finger puppets on her little bandaged finger! Savannah has been such a trooper...here she is before the stitches...

and after the stitches...

AND this has been her cute face throughout the whole ordeal...


We have called IKEA. The dresser and its knobs were already on recall for same exact thing. Go figure! New knobs are on their way. They are hopefully paying the bills as well. As traumatizing as this all was, I am so grateful for a happy, healthy baby. I have heard the most awful stories about families and their children this past month and am so lucky we just have to deal with a hurt finger!

Many more posts to come...I am falling behind!

10 Things Husbands Should Never Do

Yahoo featured this article the other day. It had me laughing because some of these are so relevant to my marriage...probably relevant to most of your marriages too! These were some of my favorites...

"Guys, we love you, we really do. But as wonderful as you are, every so often you do something that makes us want to jump out the nearest window (or push you out first). Please, please, don’t ever…

1. Offer to “babysit” your own kids. When your 16-year-old neighbor does it, it’s called babysitting. When a parent does it, it’s called child care, and it lasts for at least 18 years. Get it?
2. Imply that office work is harder than housework. At the end of a hard day, there may be smoke coming out of your ears, but let’s face it: You’ve basically been sitting on your butt. That same smoke is coming out of our ears too—but we’ve cleaned the house, shuttled the kids around, run errands all over town and lugged grocery bags besides. When we say we’re exhausted, we are exhausted.
10. Expect a medal for doing a little housework. Umm…it’s your house too, right? For now, we’ll give you the bronze. Maybe someday, if you work hard enough, you can pick up a gold.